How to optimize your IT with a timeshare CIO

More and more small and young companies are calling on the services of a part-time CIO. This function is emerging as a relevant hybrid solution for strengthening the IT function from the top down, while adapting to the reality of the organization’s needs and its ability to finance them.

What is a timeshare CIO?

The time-sharing CIO is a Director of Information Systems almost like any other… The only difference being that, as the name suggests, he or she divides his or her time between several companies – between 3 and 5 as a general rule – and – as a corollary – is therefore present on a part-time basis in these different organizations (often between 6 and 10 days a month).

Time-sharing CIOs should not be confused with interim CIOs. While it is sometimes the same structures that offer these two types of profiles, their missions are quite different: while the transitional CIO intervenes in a temporary context of change, often transformation or replacement of a position left vacant but destined to be filled on a permanent basis, the timeshare CIO’s vocation is to be part of the :

• most often on an ongoing basis,
• or on a one-off, specific assignment to support the existing IT team, without being replaced at the end of the assignment.

Who is he or she?

These are often CIOs who have already had experience as full-time IT managers, directors or experts in previous assignments, and who have chosen to practice their profession differently and experiment with other forms of commitment, sometimes on a transitional basis between 2 full-time positions.

Time-share CIOs can operate under a variety of different statuses:

• in most cases, it is a freelancer with whom a service contract is concluded;
• he or she may be an employee of an ESN (digital services company), with which the company signs a conventional service contract;
• he can be a part-time employee of the company.

Unlike a totally outsourced consultancy service, the timeshare CIO is often integrated as an employee of the company, taking part in its formal and informal rituals.

When should you hire a timeshare CIO?

IT issues are becoming increasingly prevalent in organizations, but they are also complex and difficult to grasp. When digitalization takes hold in companies that were not yet fully digitalized, the Teams in place are not always sufficiently “staffed” in terms of expertise and seniority to successfully carry out digital and IT Projects that can be decisive. The role of an Information Systems Director – strategist, expert and multi-skilled – has become decisive in steering and securing these challenges, facilitating communication with the company’s stakeholders (management, CFO, business units, etc.), and supporting decision-making.

Particularly as in SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), it is often the manager who is in charge of the information system, the DPO (Data Protection Officer), but also the steerer of strategy. In a context of change, he or she may need help, and prefer to call on a resource committed to the long term rather than outsourcing the service.

A number of contexts and situations therefore make the use of a time-sharing CIO appropriate.

• The first of these is the size of the company: the use of a timeshare CIO is particularly well suited to SMEs and start-ups… Because while IT and digital issues occupy an essential place in all companies, making the existence of a CIO function virtually indispensable, the size and needs of small structures do not justify a full-time position for these “C-levels” of strategic importance. Nor would they necessarily have the financial capacity to recruit a full-time CIO, as these coveted profiles generally come with significant remuneration packages.

There are a number of contexts and issues that companies face that make it particularly appropriate to call on the services of a timeshare CIO:

• the desire to “beef up IT“, to ensure that information systems evolve to reinforce their contribution to corporate strategy;
• and, as a corollary, the need to strengthen an existing team “from the top”;
• a change of direction, such as growth or divestment within the company, which requires a clear vision of IT strategy;
• a one-off, yet strategic, requirement that needs to be secured by the presence of a senior resource to complement existing Teams. The implementation of a new ERP system, for example, is often cited as an example of a situation where the use of a timeshare CIO is appropriate. This is a large-scale, strategic project for the company, which can present a number of pitfalls for those who have never dealt with it before;
• the need to prepare the ground for future CIO recruitment by getting Teams and Business contacts used to dealing with a Director; the time spent with the company can then rise crescendo to justify the recruitment of a full-time CIO.

What kind of timeshare CIO do you need?

This is undoubtedly the most sensitive question. Even if the CIO is not 100% present in the company, it’s still recruitment, and you can’t go wrong with the profile you’re looking for. Not all CIOs are created equal, and it’s important – for the recruiting company – to clarify its expectations and priority needs in order to make the most of this recruitment. This is all the more important in some of France’s less attractive regions on the employment front, where applications can be hard to come by; yet this is a strategic recruitment process in which you must not make any mistakes, nor hesitate to seek support.

Of course, a CIO’s job is to cover all the issues inherent in an IT department. However, in smaller organizations with fewer operational Teams, the CIO is likely to be called upon to “get his hands dirty”, and his expertise in specific areas should not be overlooked:

• Do you need a manager to lead your Teams, who can get the momentum going again, restore confidence and help employees grow, and change their attitude?
• do you need a safety shoe size?
• a “cost-killer” able to challenge the CIO’s suppliers and Contractors?
• someone who knows how to engage in dialogue with all the company’s business departments and build a Roadmap that is relevant to the IT department?
• an infra, cloud or fleet specialist?
• a transforming CIO seasoned in changes of scale such as carve-outs or external growth?

Depending on the organization’s priorities, the profile of the timeshare CIO who will be able to meet the organization’s real needs can be very different, and you need to be very careful.

What are the advantages of a timeshare CIO?

The benefits are numerous, both for the company – whether it’s the management team, the IT department or departmental staff, the Business Units – and for the CIO himself.

For the company, the arrival of a CIO – even on a part-time basis – is the promise of giving the IT department a real steer. After a classic audit phase, the CIO will define the IT strategy in line with that of the company, set out a Roadmap, identify priority projects and bring them to fruition, with the support of in-house IT Teams or external reinforcements if necessary.

Unlike a consultant, who is often just passing through and doesn’t have the same foothold in the organization, he or she becomes a key contact for management: their punctual presence gives them a higher level view of IT issues, often detached from internal political issues. Business line managers benefit from enhanced, high-quality dialogue on their needs and on the contribution of digital technology and the IT department to their objectives, taking the company further.

A company that uses a timeshare CIO can expect concrete short-term benefits:

• secure management of IT assets ;
• optimize IT budgets and improve visibility on investments ;
• risk management ;
• boosting IT team efficiency and service quality;
• better visibility of the strategy and its implementation ;
• sourcing of reinforcements if necessary ;
• governance.

For IT department staff, the involvement of a CIO-level professional often represents an opportunity to grow by working alongside an experienced manager who takes a strategic look at the information system. It can also be an opportunity for Teams to professionalize through contact with a seasoned expert who shares and passes on his knowledge, and whose special position within the company can also make it easier for him to get certain messages across to the stakeholders in the IT department.

There is one final advantage: cost. By its very nature, the intervention of a timeshare CIO could be equivalent to that of a senior consultant made available by a consulting firm; but the content of the long-term commitment means that it can be done at incomparable average daily rates (ADR) that are much more accessible to the SMEs concerned, sometimes going from simple to double.

Finally, the time-sharing CIO also has a lot to gain:

• the variety brought by the diversity of assignments: the timeshare CIO is a local recruit, so it’s common for him or her to be involved in several business sectors, which means different challenges, strategies, contacts and collaborators with whom to cooperate. In terms of employability, this adds several strings to his bow, reinforcing his know-how and broadening his expertise;
• flexibility and freedom of organization, autonomy in the management of time;
• if he has chosen an independent status, a form of financial security, since if one mission ends, the others ensure continuity of remuneration (this is not the case for transitional CIOs, who have to anticipate intermission phases);
• if employed by an ESN (digital services company), a form of mentoring alongside peers who are also part-time or transition CIOs.

What are the limits and risks of the job?

There are few risks and limits to the function, except that at some point the timeshare may no longer be sufficient to cover the organization’s needs, which would then be a positive sign of its growth. It’s more a question of vigilance:

• the risk of dependency and loss of control over the information system with a resource that has “only one foot” in the company. SMEs with a low level of digital maturity may find it difficult to express their needs clearly, to understand where they are starting from and to reassure themselves about the added value of what the timeshare CIO will bring them. They may fear that they won’t be in a position to judge the relevance of the service and the advice provided. To this end, the CIO must be asked to demonstrate transparency, by sharing Dashboards, reporting and roadmaps that are precise enough to ensure visibility of the CIO’s involvement.
  It is also a good idea to identify a partner for the timeshare CIO, who will be present on a recurring basis, and who will benefit from sharing skills and growing in contact with this experienced professional, and why not – in the future – replace him or her on a full-time basis. In this way, we need to capitalize on the presence of the timeshare CIO, and insist on the transmission of information to avoid creating a form of dependency.
• the risk of a lack of organizational flexibility: the time-sharing CIO generally works on one or more fixed days within the company; this requires a certain amount of rigor in the planning of exchange times, or negotiating with the CIO concerned, to ensure the smooth running of the activity, a possible relaxation of his or her schedule in case of diary management needs.

What tools does a timeshare CIO need?

One of the difficulties inherent in time-sharing for the CIO is that he or she is confronted with as many different tools and governance processes as there are companies in which he or she is involved. In SMEs, the tools are often limited, and Excel is still widely used as a tracking solution, whether for budgeting, vendor management, etc. Juggling from one spreadsheet to another can prove complex, especially when the CIO has to appropriate spreadsheets developed by others, which are neither collaborative nor remotely shareable.

The Abraxio platform is particularly recommended for time-sharing CIOs, to help them manage the IT activities of the organizations in which they work. There are many benefits for all concerned:

• The CIO benefits from a single “standardized” platform for all the companies he looks after. This saves time and increases efficiency, with automated processes that can be reproduced from one environment to the next.
• The entire IT team can access the platform; it provides a structured, flexible and sustainable working framework, with tracking history and a good level of granularity to gradually bring the team on board towards greater operational efficiency (project reporting, time tracking, task management, EDM, securing contracts, etc.), especially as the Abraxio platform was designed by former CIOs with the aim of providing pragmatic answers to the monitoring, steering and communication needs of CIOs of all sizes.
• The company, and in particular senior management (including the CFO), can have real-time, permanent visibility of the CIO and IT department’s actions (and more generally of the projects in the portfolio embedded in the platform). Educational Dashboards on different aspects of business management (Budgets, Projects, Teams, Suppliers) are useful for supporting the organization’s digital maturation, and enhancing the contribution made by the IT department. Abraxio can then be used as a tool to facilitate mediation and pedagogy around the work carried out by the timeshare CIO, with a high degree of reassurance as to the veracity and reliability of the data manipulated.
• As the platform is very affordable and immediately available without any configuration, it is very easy to use, even for “small” structures.